Texas country on the rock ‘n roll edge

In Texas dive bars, no sounds are more beloved than Southern rock and country. Local band Matt Fracht & the Contraband delivers on both counts.

Frequenting rooms like Dixie Dance Hall and the West, Matt Fracht’s sound is whiskey-soaked Texas country delivered in a Southern rock package. Fresh off the release of the band’s new album Texas Retribution on June 21, Fracht will play an acoustic set at Oke Dokee’s tonight, with an encore full band show on July 26.

“I started playing music by myself in College Station where I went to school at A&M,” Fracht said. “I graduated from college, got a job and everything and then stuff started snowballing with the music career, so we started the band about a year and a half ago.”

Fracht is committed to the band full-time right now, taking the four-piece around Texas to play markets like College Station and Austin. You can expect a few familiar country covers at Fracht’s shows — and some surprises like Sublime’s “What I Got” — but this is no cover band.

“We’re not a cover band — we’re trying to make it in the Texas country music scene,” Fracht said. “But if we’re covering stuff, we’ll play everything from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Alan Jackson to Sublime.”

Hear that, fellas? No drunken requests for “Freebird,” please. But you can request some Skynyrd.

“I would say a lot of my inspirations come from … Hank Jr., Waylon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Texas country influences like Robert Earl Keen, Chris Knight.”

The Texas country scene in Beaumont, while not nearly as expansive as one would expect considering our penchant for country and dive bars, has some footing around town with acts like Bronco Jr. and Jamie Talbert and the Band of Demons.

“I feel like there’s room to grow in Beaumont,” Fracht said. “We wanna capitalize on the Texas country kinda Southern rock genre. We’re trying to play everywhere here in Beaumont.”

If you’re in the mood to step out for some rockin’ Texas country tonight, Fracht’s acoustic show at the ‘Doke is a good place to start.